The 2026 Tour de France is set to kick off during the Grand Départ with the highly anticipated stage 1 team time trial on July 4 in Barcelona.
It will be prime viewing as the very best of the overall contenders, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and their respective teams, battle it out for the first yellow jersey.
The team time trial promises opening-day action for the race favourites over a 19km course with climbs to the finish at Montjuïc. The teams will cross intermediate time checks at Carrer de Llull at 5.1km, Sagrada Familia at 10.5km, and Passeig de Santa Madrona at 15.9km before tackling the Côte de Montjuïc and then the finale up the Côte de Stage Olympique.
This location is not new in pro cycling, a familiar finish for stages of the Volta a Catalunya, but at the Tour de France, a team time trial has not been included since the 2019 edition – seven years ago.
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA will lead the way, starting the event at 17:05 CEST, local time. The Spanish outfit, a staple at the Vuelta a España over the past 15 years, will make their debut at the Tour de France.
A riveting spectacle that is the team time trial discipline, all eyes, especially in France, will be on Decathlon CMA CGM – the team of young favourite Paul Seixas – who will begin their team time trial at 18:30.
The major favourites, however, won't start until later in the evening: Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, home of the individual time time trial World and Olympic Champion, Evenepoel, set off at 18:45.
Up next will be recent Giro d'Italia winner Vingegaard and his Visma-Lease a Bike squad off the starting line at 18:50.
And last, but not least, the defending Tour champion Pogačar and his team UAE Team Emirates-XRG will grace the start line at 18:55.
Cyclingnews has been on-site ahead of the Grand Départ, bringing you all the stories that matter, including tech-specific insights such as how teams have prepared for the Tour de France opening TTT from January to July, analysing Pogačar's and Vingegaard's time trial set-ups, and Alpecin-Premier Tech, rather interestingly, relying on old-school bike tech for the team time trial.
Don't miss Cyclingnews' live coverage of the stage 1 team time trial, and additional details on how to watch the 2026 Tour de France.
Tour de France 2026 TTT start times
Order |
Team |
Time (CEST) |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
17:05:00 |
2 |
Team Picnic PostNL |
17:10:00 |
3 |
TotalEnergies |
17:15:00 |
4 |
Tudor Pro Cycling Team |
17:20:00 |
5 |
Groupama-FDJ United |
17:25:00 |
6 |
Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team |
17:30:00 |
7 |
Cofidis |
17:35:00 |
8 |
Lotto Intermarché |
17:40:00 |
9 |
Movistar Team |
17:45:00 |
10 |
NSN Cycling Team |
17:50:00 |
11 |
Uno-X Mobility |
17:55:00 |
12 |
Team Jayco AlUla |
18:00:00 |
13 |
Alpecin-Premier Tech |
18:05:00 |
14 |
Soudal-QuickStep |
18:10:00 |
15 |
Netcompany Ineos |
18:15:00 |
16 |
Bahrain-Victorious |
18:20:00 |
17 |
XDS Astana Team |
18:25:00 |
18 |
Decathlon CMA CGM Team |
18:30:00 |
19 |
EF Education-EasyPost |
18:35:00 |
20 |
Lidl-Trek |
18:40:00 |
21 |
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe |
18:45:00 |
22 |
Team Visma-Lease a Bike |
18:50:00 |
23 |
UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
18:55:00 |
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